This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but over the last five years we have experienced quite a boom in e-commerce business. Over the past year, I have done a lot of work in this space as a greater percentage of our client base is looking to capture the opportunities that exist with e-commerce organizations. As I was looking up information in our trusted source, IBISWorld.com, I came across some information regarding this industry that I’d like to share.

The bottom line is that technology is changing the way organizations do business for both large and small organizations. IBISWorld estimates that revenue from the e-commerce and online auctions industry has increased at an annualized rate of 8.9% over the past five years, to $314.9 billion in 2015. There are some products that are doing better in this space than others, as the below graph illustrates.

The areas that I would like to draw attention to that would apply to a B2B sale are Computers and Tablets, as well as Auto Parts. These two industries are among the top performers in online sales and e-commerce. Two nuggets to think about if you fall into these industries or are selling to them:

Are people able to access your information online? Do you have an e-commerce portal set up? The above chart really shows no growth in in-store sales for computers and tablets. Furthermore, your buyers are online, so increasing your digital touches to them is critical.

With increase in online sales, these organizations are going to need to grow and develop their fulfillment and distribution space. These facilities are being built as we speak; don’t just target the manufacturing or retail centers – distribution space will be critical to your success in these markets.

Questions and comments? I would love to speak with you about growing your presence online or building a sales strategy in the distribution market. Please contact Jennifer Nietz at jnietz@teamCOACT.com.